This is suggested by the results of a new research just published in Science which showed that taurine is associated with beneficial effects on the general health and longevity of various animal species, including humans.
The amino acid taurine, which owes its name to the bull bile from which it was first isolated, could be the elixir of a longer and healthier life. The results of a new research just published on Science, from which emerge the benefits on general health and longevity that can derive from the consumption of this substance. The analysis, coordinated by scientists from Columbia University in New York first examined whether taurine deficiency is an engine in the aging process, and then evaluated the effects of its integration in different animal species.
In a first experiment conducted in mouse models, scholars discovered that taurine it has the potential to increase average lifespan 12% in female mice and 10% in males. This means an extra three to four months of life, equivalent to about seven to eight human years. To then find out how taurine has an impact on health, the scholars evaluated the effects of supplementation on various health parameters, documenting its advantages in different species. “Not only did we find that the animals lived longer, but we also found that they had healthier livessaid the study’s corresponding author, Dr. Vijay Yadav, assistant professor of genetics and development at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Blood levels decrease with aging (top left). A reversal of this decline through taurine supplementation increased healthy lifespan in mice and worms but not yeast (bottom left and top center). Taurine supplementation affected several hallmarks of aging (middle). In humans, lower taurine concentrations have been associated with more disease (top right). A randomized human trial to evaluate the anti-aging effects of taurine is warranted (bottom right) / Credit: P. Singh et al. Science 2023
In experiments on mice, the experts observed that, at the age of 2 years (60 human years), the animals that received taurine supplementation were healthier than those not treated. Specifically, taurine was found to be associated the suppression of age-related weight gain in female mice, increased energy expenditure, increased bone mass, and improved muscle endurance and strength. But also a a reduction in depressive and anxious behaviorsto the strengthening of the immune system and to a lower insulin resistance.
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At the cellular level, scholars observed that taurine supplementation resulted an improvement in many functions which usually decrease with age, for example by reducing the number of so-called “zombie” cells, old cells that should die but instead linger and release harmful substances.
Supplementation also increased the number of stem cells present in some tissues (which can help tissues heal after an injury), improved mitochondria performance, reduced DNA damage and improved the ability of cells to sense nutrients. Similar effects have also been recorded in monkeys rhesus middle-aged, who was given daily taurine supplements for six months. Taurine staved off weight gain, reduced fasting blood sugar and markers of liver damage, increased bone density and improved immune system health.
However, to be able to state that taurine can improve health and increase longevity in humans, further studies will be needed. But two further experiments, in which he examined the relationship between taurine levels and about 50 health parameters in 12,000 European adults aged 60 and over, seem to suggest its potential. Overall, people with higher taurine levels were healthier, with fewer cases of type 2 diabetes, lower levels of obesity, reduced high blood pressure and lower levels of inflammation. The second study also found taurine levels increase significantly in response to exercise, suggesting that some health benefits of exercise could result from increased taurine.
“At the moment – Dr. Yadav specified – these are associations and do not establish a causal link, but are consistent with the possibility that taurine deficiency contributes to human aging. Only a randomized clinical trial will determine whether taurine really has benefits for human health”.